Skeptic: Extraordinary Claims, Revolutionary Ideas, and the Promotion of Science

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2007 July–December

July 4th: Why Richard Dawkins is Wrong About Religion: David Sloan Wilson shares with us his analysis of Dawkins’ theory of religion, which he feels is wide of the mark based on the evidence.
July 11th: DNA as Evolution’s Proof: Kenneth K. Krause reviews Sean B. Carroll’s book entitled The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Record of Evolution.
July 18th: Michael Shermer on Larry King Live: Michael Shermer shares some of the more amusing (and nasty) letters he received after his appearaance on the UFO episode of Larry King Live. Also, David Sloan Wilson responds to Dawkins; and Shermer tries remote viewing.
July 25th: Testing Tenure: Michael Shermer proposes a market solution to the problem of tenure in this invited open peer commentary on an article entitled “Is Tenure Justified? An Experimental Study of Faculty Beliefs About Tenure, Promotion, and Academic Freedom” by Stephen J. Ceci, Wendy M. Williams, and Katrin Mueller-Johnson, published in a 2006 issue of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, volume 29, pages 553–569.
August 1st: Blinded by Science?: We present two reviews of Frank Tipler’s book The Physics of Christianity — the first review by Lawrence Krauss and the second by Tim Callahan.
August 8th: Primate Politics Heats Up Again: World-renowned primateologist Frans de Waal, responds to a recent New Yorker article on bonobos, in which primate politics, both left and right, once again muddled the science.
August 15th: Bioidentical Hormones: Dr. Harriet Hall, Skeptic’s resident expert on all matters medical, examines the evidence surrounding bioidentical hormone treatment.
August 22nd: How Doctors Think They Think: Charles Lambdin reviews Jerome Groopman’s book: How Doctors Think.
September 5th: A Fond Farewell to Jerry Andrus & Paul MacCready: Michael Shermer shares his personal remembrances of his good friends Jerry Andrus and Paul MacCready, who recently passed away.
September 12th: Announcing the Fall Season of Caltech Lectures: The Skeptics Society announces its fall season of Caltech lectures.
September 19th: The Trickster and the Paranormal: Robert R. Lavieri reviews George P. Hansen’s book entitled The Trickster and the Paranormal.
September 26th: Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis: Angelo Stagnaro reviews Bryan Farha’s book Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis.
October 3rd: Darwin’s Origin of Species: A Biography: James N. Gardner reviews Janet Browne’s book Darwin’s Origin of Species: A Biography.
October 10th: Two Views, One Reality: Jason Rosenhouse reviews two books: Francisco Ayala’s Darwin and Intelligent Design and Philip Kitcher’s Living With Darwin: Evolution, Design and the Future of Faith.
October 17th: new issue of Skeptic on Medical Controversies: A new issue of Skeptic magazine (volume 13, number 3) hits the news stands with a special section on Medical Controversies; Shop Skeptic gets three new Richard Dawkins DVDs; and Michael Shermer shares The Real Secret.
October 24th: How the Medical Mind Works: Harriet Hall, M.D. (Skeptic magazine’s resident expert on all matters medical) reviews Jerome Groopman’s book How Doctors Think. PLUS, Shermer appears on CNN’s Glenn Beck show to discuss 9/11 conspiracy theories; Dinesh D’Souza and Michael Shermer debate “Is Christianity Good for the World?”.
October 31st: Is there nonhuman primate language?: Dr. Clive Wynne, a psychology professor at the University of Florida and the author of the authoritative textbook on the subject of animal cognition, revisits the debate about whether animals have language.
November 7th: Crystals for Skeptics!: The Skeptics Society presents Crystals for Skeptics!, a geology trip to the Oceanview Mine in Pala, California. Also, in this eSkeptic, Michael Shermer talks about God in New York.
November 14th: Answering Questions on UFOs and Aliens: Dr. David Morrison, a Senior Scientist of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, answers questions about astrobiology sent to “Ask an Astrobiologist”. Read on to find out how Dr. Morrison handles queries like “where are you hiding the alien bodies?” and other such matters.
November 20th: The Matrix of the Brain: David Ludden reviews by Cordelia Fine‘s book entitled A Mind of its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives.
November 28th: Newtonmas Holiday Sales Bonanza!: The Skeptics Society is having a Holiday Sales Bonanza in celebration of Newtonmas (a tradition amongst skeptics) in recognition of Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday (he’s 365 this year!) on December 25.
December 5th: You Can Prove a Negative: Steven D. Hales says “you can prove a negative” and that skeptics need not concede this point in debates.
December 12th: The Immortal Lily the Pink: Daniel Loxton comments on the history (and future) of patent medicine in light of 2007’s status as the 100th anniversary of active Federal regulation of food and drugs.
December 19th: Deconstructing a Postmodernist Critique of Evolution: Dr. Norman Levitt reviews Steve Fuller’s book entitled Science vs. Religion?: Intelligent Design and the Problem of Evolution.